A £100m local development fund is one of the recommendations to boost renewable energy and other clean growth infrastructure projects in the UK in a new report by the government’s green finance taskforce.
Such a fund has the potential to unlock an estimated £30bn of in clean growth infrastructure, the report said.
The taskforce was asked by the government to come up with ideas to deliver the public and private investment required by the UK to meet carbon budgets and related environmental goals, as well as maximise its share of the global green finance market.
Among a raft of recommendations the report, called ‘Accelerating Green Finance in the UK’, backs the setting up of clean growth regeneration zones.
These could be transformed with anchor investments in new renewable energy projects linked directly to industrial activity such as with power purchase agreements, the report said.
Other asks include sovereign green bonds and the creation of a Green Finance Institute and a Green Fintech Hub.
The taskforce worked with over 140 organisations to produce the report, the taskforce said.
Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of ethical peer-to-peer finance platform Abundance Investment, is a member of the taskforce and advised on local-authority-led growth for the report.
Davis said: “The UK is sitting on a goldmine of untapped investments in clean energy and energy efficiency that would unlock the clean growth transition we need to make as an economy and society.
“The taskforce sets out a clear plan to realise that transition and deliver the benefits of clean growth investments to the real economy.”
UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister John Glen said: “The UK is the world leader in green finance, and it’s clear from today’s report why that is.
“Our first-class talent and unrivalled ambition resulted in over $10bn being raised through green bonds listed in London in 2017, and we have no intention of slowing down.
Glen added: “I want to thank the taskforce for their hard work, and I look forward to working with the industry on their recommendations to ensure that this market flourishes, not just at home, but across the world.”
Image: MorgueFile
UK fund ‘could unlock’ RE finance
By EBS